Epilepsy Program

The multidisciplinary experts in the Epilepsy Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado diagnose and treat all forms of epilepsy. We care for babies, kids and young adults, ranging from those who have just experienced their first seizure to those suffering from chronic and debilitating epilepsy.

Children's Colorado is accredited by the NAEC as a level 4 epilepsy center. Level 4 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.

Why choose Children’s Colorado for your child's epilepsy treatment?

Our pediatric-trained specialists offer multiple treatment options including medications, dietary options and surgical interventions to help control seizures in children.

Our epilepsy team provides a complete evaluation for all epilepsy types. As a NAEC level 4 epilepsy center, we offer advanced treatment options for complex patients, including a broad range of surgical procedures, various epilepsy diets and clinical medication trials.

Our multidisciplinary epilepsy surgery team is designed to meet the needs of the child from presurgical testing to postsurgical extended care. We have a surgical nurse program coordinator that works closely with families to help guide them through the surgical pathway.

Our providers also use advanced technology to ensure the best outcomes for children:

We use state-of-the-art laser technology to target deep brain lesions through very small openings.

Our neurosurgeons use a robotic surgical assistant (ROSA) to plan each step of a child’s operation in advance and to precisely place sEEG electrodes that can localize a deeper seizure onset zone.

We partner with hospitals in New Mexico, Montana, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming to help co-manage complex epilepsy patients. We’re working to expand our telemedicine offerings to reach epilepsy patients in underserved and remote areas of Colorado and the surrounding states.

Our epilepsy team actively participates in the community to raise epilepsy awareness and support. We promote epilepsy camps through the Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado.

Our multidisciplinary approach to epilepsy care

Our epilepsy team offers treatment for a variety of conditions, including:

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS): a severe type of epilepsy with several different types of seizures

Landau-Kleffner syndrome: a rare form of childhood epilepsy

Dravet syndrome: also known as severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), is a rare genetic form of epilepsy that is often triggered by temperature changes

Doose syndrome: also known as myoclonic astatic epilepsy, is a form of epilepsy usually with hard-to-control seizure types

Infantile (West syndrome) or epileptic spasms: consists of a sudden stiffening of the body, arms, legs, with the head bent forward

Electrical status epilepticus during slow-wave sleep (ESES): a rare form of epilepsy also called “continuous spike-wave of slow sleep”

Childhood absence epilepsy: a form of epilepsy in which a child will stare off with a glazed look; can be accompanied by blinking, chewing, facial twitching, and it is very brief in duration

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: a generalized epilepsy condition that typically manifests in late childhood

Sturge Weber syndrome: characterized by a birthmark of the face called “port-wine stain,” glaucoma, seizures, intellectual disabilities and abnormalities in the brain

Glut-1 deficiency syndrome: rare genetic metabolic disorder characterized by deficiency of a protein that is required for glucose transportation in the brain and is commonly characterized by seizures and cognitive impairment

Cortical dysplasia: an abnormality in the development and organization of the cerebral cortex (part of the brain) that can cause seizures and other neurologic disorders

Tumors: clumps of cells in the brain that are dividing incorrectly (too much or too fast)

Congenital brain malformations: an abnormality in the brain present since birth

Strokes: occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts

WADA, also known as intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure (ISAP): a study used to determine which side(s) of a patient’s brain controls language and memory

Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG):a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which a surgeon makes multiple tiny holes (about the width of a piece of spaghetti) in the child’s head and then places long electrodes in the brain around the area that seizures may be coming from; this procedure is used to guide surgical resection and map functional areas

Neuropsychology for epilepsy

Common cognitive and behavioral challenges often occur in children with epilepsy, including memory concerns, learning difficulties, behavioral problems, anxiety and mood disorders.

When evaluating children who have seizures, the neuropsychologist can help parents understand whether their child is having learning problems that are related to the seizures, medications or other causes. Specialized evaluations are done when epilepsy surgery is being considered to help guide the surgical discussion related to ongoing brain development.

Our team will also use the information gathered during this evaluation to track your child’s progress over time.

Ketogenic diet and nutritional support for epilepsy

The ketogenic diet is a treatment for seizures used when anti-seizure medications have failed or have unwanted side effects. The diet is very high in fat, fairly low in protein and very low in carbohydrates. Our Ketogenic Diet Team includes an epilepsy advanced practice provider and a Keto-trained registered dietitian with consultation by the pediatric epileptologist.

Our team designs a ketogenic diet specifically for each patient's nutritional needs. The diet requires medical management to ensure safety and maximize effectiveness. We review dietary treatment options with the family and gather information about the patient and family prior to giving recommendations about diet therapy.

Our goals of diet therapy are to decrease seizures with as few side effects as possible, with the least amount of disruption to the family. We’re focused on decreasing hospital stays and complications during the diet initiation.

Registered dietitian: a nutrition expert who works with an epilepsy provider to manage prescribed epilepsy diets

Rehabilitation provider: a provider who treats a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord and nerves with a goal to maximize a child’s independence and improve their quality of life

Registered EEG technologist: a specialist who performs a number of EEG procedures to assess brain activity, including tracking brain and nerve function during surgery

Epilepsy advanced practice provider: a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA) with expertise in the management of complex epilepsy

Neuroradiologist: a doctor with specialized training to identify abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord on radiologic images

Psychiatrist: a doctor who specializes in treating mental health issues related to mood and behavior

Neurologist: a doctor that has completed specialized medical training in the care of children and adolescents with disorders of the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles

Genetics counselor: a professional with specialized training in genetics and counseling of families regarding inherited medical conditions

At Children’s Colorado, we offer care from different subspecialties to help you care for your child with epilepsy. As part of our program, we also offer care from our:

Epilepsy Surgery Clinic: a multidisciplinary clinic to meet with the epilepsy surgery team to discuss surgical options for a child’s seizures

Intractable Epilepsy Clinic: an extended clinic appointment with an epilepsy specialist (epileptologist) for patients whose seizures have failed to be controlled by multiple anti-seizure medications

Integrative Epilepsy Clinic: a multidisciplinary clinic for families to meet with specialists to help understand non-epileptic events.

Ketogenic Diet Clinic: a multidisciplinary clinic specifically to help start, manage/maintain and provide support for patients on the ketogenic diet

Seizure Safety School: a program our epilepsy team offers to help caregivers manage their child’s epilepsy at home and school

Emphasis on research in the Epilepsy Program

The Neuroscience Institute at Children’s Colorado is dedicated to advancing research to discover the best ways to treat, diagnose and cure children with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders. Our doctors and scientists are internationally recognized leaders, making Children’s Colorado one of the leading pediatric research institutes in the world.